January 31, 1943. The German Sixth Army surrenders to the Russians at Stalingrad after the Russian winter an snow decimates the Germans and saps their will to fight.

April, 1943. German troops massacre the remaining Jews inside the Warsaw ghetto in Poland, those who haven’t already been sent to extermination camps at Auschwitz and other locations. About 60.000 Jews were still in the ghetto at the beginning of April, and these survivors resist the German butchery with fierce resistance. But the Jews defiance is doomed to failure and largely unreported in the rest of the world. Read Mila 18 by Leon Uris for a complete fictional account of the bravery and tragedy of the Jewish resistance inside the Warsaw Ghetto.

May 12, 1943. The German and Italian armies in North Africa surrender to the Allies.

June 10, 1943. Hungarian hypnotist and journalist, Ladislao Biro,in Argentina with his brother Georg, a chemist, patents a revolutionary new writing instrument, the ballpoint pen. In 1950 Marcel Bich bought the patent from BÃ­rÃ³ for the pen, which soon became the main product of his Bic company.

July 13, 1943. After a huge tank battle at Kursk in the Soviet Union in which 1500 German and Soviet tanks fight at close range, the Germans are driven back and Adolf Hitler himself orders a withdrawal.

July 9, 1943. U.S. troops invade Italy at the tip of Sicily, and on July 22 the troops reach and take Palermo in the northwest corner of Sicily. German defenders of Sicily retreat into Italy, and the Sicilians for the most part welcome the Americans.

July 25, 1943. King Victor Emmanuel III and the Fascist Council reject and overthrow Benito Mussolini in Italy and replace him with Marshal Pietro Badoglio. Two days later, Badoglio dissolves the Fascist government and tries to negotiate a peace with the Allies while still trying to placate the Nazis who are scattered in force throughout Italy. Mussolini goes into hiding.

August 2, 1943. The Allies bomb the port of Hamburg, Germany, reducing its shipyards and factories to rubble.

October 13, 1943. Italy surrenders to the Allies and declares war on its former ally, Germany.

November, 1943. Allied leaders Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin meet in Tehran, Iran to coordinate war strategy and plan for the aftermath of the war.

I'm a Christian, the homeschooling mom of eight (yes, all mine) children, married to a NASA engineer, and a confirmed bookaholic. I like old books, conservative politics, and new and interesting ideas. My hair is grey, my favorite clothes are red, and I love purple. Come on in and enjoy the blog. Be sure to tell me what you think before you leave.